Archive

Professor Murray Straus of the University of New Hampshire has published a very interesting large multinational study that shows that contrary to popular belief, women can and do commit significant amounts of violence in relationships against men. The study found that “mutual domestic violence” with men and women both committing violence against each other is most common, that “female only” violence with women attacking men is the next most common, and that “male only” violence is half as common as “female only” violence.

This pattern applies across national boundaries. Additionally, the study shows that partner dominance in a relationship is highly indicative of likelihood for there to be domestic violence. Female dominance in relationships leads to higher rates of domestic violence than male dominance, but in both cases it shows that one partner trying to unfairly control the other is likely to involve or provoke violence.